It's All Fun And Games
by Magsforever
Summary: Kendra Angler is a normal twelve year old from District 4. She has loving parents, an awesome brother, and is one of the best in the tribute training program. That is until the Reaping for the 71st Hunger Games. Two words will change her world forever. Please R
1. Nightmare

Nightmares. They plague children and adults alike. They show us our deepest darkest fears. Nightmares show us who we really are. Everything we try to hide, from even from ourselves, can be seen in nightmares.

That is what woke me on my first Reaping Day. Not the smell of bacon, a rare treat, or my brother calling my name, but pure waves of terror, only found in one's imagination.

"Wake up," Nico yelled shaking my shoulders hard. I snapped up clutching my chest, breathing heavily. I was covered in sweat and shaking hard. Nico rubbed my back as I struggled to catch my breath.

The room we shared had one window which gave us all the light we needed. It was painted a light green like the foam on the waves outside. I concentrated on the calming color until I felt my heart rate slow.

"Better?" Nico asked. I nodded. Even though the two of us are twins, you could barely tell we were siblings by looking at us. The only similarities in our appearances are our eyes and the tan everyone in District Four had, one that came with years of work on the boats.

"So, what was it this time?" he asked. I had been having nightmares for weeks now all revolving around the same thing.

"The Reaping," I shrugged standing up and stretching. Nico ran his hand through his wind blown, blond hair.

"Your name is only in there once, besides we live in a career district, someone always volunteers," I shook my head.

"Not always, last year no one volunteered," Nico started laughing.

"That's because River was the volunteer."

"Still, what if I get picked, what about you?"

"Nico, Kendra," our mother called. "Come eat, the Reaping is in half an hour." I groaned and started toward the door. Nico caught my arm as I passed.

"Even if one of us got picked, we wouldn't have to worry," he smiled a little. "After all, you're the top of training and I'm only three spots behind you." I nodded.

The rest of the house consisted of two rooms. One for my parents and the other was a living room of sorts that contained a stove, a small couch, and a freezer. The house was small but comfortable. We were poor but we still had more money than the rich in places like District 12.

After eating a small breakfast of salmon and bacon, I quickly washed and dressed. I wore the knee length purple dress I only wore on special occasions. I personally hated it but according to everyone else it made me look adorable. My mother hummed an upbeat tune as she braided my hair. It was a tune I vaguely recognized from when I was younger.

"What's that you're humming?" I asked as she tied off the end of one of my braids with a piece of ribbon.

"It's an old song, from before the games," she whispered to me.

"Then why sing it? We have new sings now." My mom laughed quietly.

"The song is about surviving to fight another day," she whispered. "I feel like it's appropriate, given the day." She finished my braids and patted my shoulder. I started to hum the song and she shook her head.

"Not now, sweetheart." She lead me back into the living room where my father and Nico were already waiting. They were both wearing black,freshly pressed,pants and loose button down shirts. Father's was untucked and slightly rumpled whereas Nico's was perfectly neat.

Without a word the four of us headed off down the street toward the Justice Building. In the houses around us you could hear the sounds of families getting ready. The yells of the children, too young to understand what was going on, rang through the quiet road. The only other sound was that of the waves as they crashed along the shore at the far end of the street.

The city circle was eerily silent as my brother and I hugged our parents good-bye. It was like everyone had forgotten how to speak. Nico and I signed ourselves in and after a quick hug I left him to stand with the other twelve year old girls.

Unlike in other districts, around here, there is no hand holding while we wait. There is no reassurances, but there is a sort of silent agreement. One that comforts all the younger children. The promise that someone will step up if you get picked, someone who will win the glory for our district.

The microphone squealed up on stage as our , Phox Redpath, stepped forward to begin the ceremony. He is a tall thin man, with wild green and blue hair and a pointed nose. Most of the kids in my school call him the Octopus.

I tuned out Phox for most of the speech about the districts and the rebellion since it is always the same thing. The only part I actually paid attention to was when he announced the past victors from District 4. We had six living at this point. There was Mags, River, Astoria, Triton, Finnick, and last of all Annie, who had won just the year before.

I only paid attention at that point to see Annie because she had supposedly lost her mind in the games and I was curious to see if she would go insane on stage. As soon as they were all seated the Octopus smiled out at the crowd.

"Let's get to the Reaping, shall we?" He raised a dyed eyebrow at the crowd before turning towards the girl's reaping ball. I held my breath as he slowly popped the seal. A second passed and then another before he took a deep breath and said:

"Kendra Angler."

**A/N Thank you everyone for clicking this story :D I hope you liked the first chapter. Please tell me your thoughts**

**XOXOX**


	2. Cold As Ice

Everything inside of me froze. My blood turned to ice and my lungs filled with water. My brain became detached from the rest of me. It felt like I was watching a movie about someone else. I was a dead girl walking. The world around me moved in slow motion. Everything moved through molasses. Then everything picked up in over time. It was like my mind was trying to catch up with the rest of the world.

"Kendra Angler," Phox repeated on the stage. The girl next to me pushed me forward. I stumbled before catching myself. The Peacekeepers formed a wall around me and started marching me toward the stage. I kept my head held high as I took the stage next to Phox. He looked at me like he was disappointed.

"Is there anyone out there willing to volunteer in the place of this little thing?" I glared at him before looking out towards the crowd. I looked to the eighteen year olds at the very back, the one's who have more experience than me, but they were all shaking their heads. Every single girl over the age of sixteen was shaking her head. That was the signature on my death certificate.

I was a tribute.

I bit my lip to keep from crying. The adults standing around the edges of the square are muttering and shaking their heads. One man was smiling and holding his slip of paper in the air, he had won money on my death sentence. Phox sighed next to me.

"Disappointing," he muttered. Then louder he said. "A round of applause for this years District Four female tribute, Kendra Angler." There is some scattered applause and Phox turned to the boy's bowl.

"Neptune Grey." An eighteen year old boy steps forward. He was pale, which probably meant he had never worked the docks a day in his life, with dark hair. Phox barely had time to ask before someone volunteered.

The volunteer was a handsome, sixteen year old, who I had never seen before. He looked almost identical to Neptune except for a deep tan and light blue eyes. He looked at me sadly as he took his place on stage.

"What's your name?" The boy ran a hand through his hair.

"Asher Hocking." Phox smiled as if to say:

This is a proper tribute! This is our next victor!

There was a loud applause. It was deafening. Then the mayor read the Treaty of Treason.

Across the plaza I locked eyes with Nico. He looked at me with pity.

_I'm gonna miss you. _The sentence seemed to hang between us. It was like a viel, obscuring my view.

I was reminded of the only other time my brother and I almost split. We were six at the time. The two of us were swimming together in the shallow water near the dock our father works on. The two of us had been warned that a storm was coming, a hurricane, but the water seemed so calm that we didn't listen and went in anyway.

For the first half hour or so we played and splashed around. It wasn't until we both stopped for a minute that we realized that the water had grown rough. A riptide caught Nico and I and we were dragged out towards the nets. Luckily, one of our father's friends saw as and fished us out of the water, but it had been close. I had only been seconds away from gasping in the cool salty water.

I can still remember the feeling as my brothers hand was torn from mine by the strong current. The feeling of loosing my other half.

The mayor finished the dull Treaty and motioned for Asher and I to shake hands. I looked into his eyes as we shook hands. There is kindness there, not pity, but kindness. I thought it was just my imagination.

"Don't worry," he whispered so quietly I found myself doubting he said anything at all. The anthem of Panem started playing in the background and the two of us turn to face our neighbors. My eyes searched out my parents.

My mom was sobbing into my fathers shoulder. Her small frame shaking violently. My father had unshed tears,shining brightly, in his eyes as he comforted her. There was a grim hope in the way he looked at me. He was not giving up on me just yet.

I held my head higher as the anthem played. If my father still believed in me there was no way I was going to give up on myself. I could turn my disadvantage into an advantage. I could live to fight another day.

I could become the youngest victor in the history of the Hunger Games.

**A/N this chapter is short I know but I needed to cut it there. Should probably explain training to everyone? The training program is run by the victors in order to train kids for the games. It takes place after school and families must pay for it**

**Please tell me what you thought **

**XOXOX**


	3. Farewell

The Peacekeepers lead Asher and I into separate rooms to wait for our visitors. The room I was locked in was one of the nicest places i had ever seen. The entire room was a minty green color with scattered couches and chairs throughout.

I took deep breaths as I waited for the hour to start. I had exactly one hour to say good-bye to all my friends and family. I had heard Finnick Odair, one of the victors, call it the Hell Hour. He would always tell his classes that it was the worst part of his games.

The deep breaths did nothing to calm my climbing nerves so I started to pace. The beat of my steps was the only sound in the silent room. They faltered to a stop when the door flew open.

Nico stood alone in the door holding a leather cord in his hand. As soon as he stepped forward I was in his arms. We just stood there hanging on to each other for what felt like an eternity. I felt the top of my hair dampen with his tears but I forced mine back. I could not cry, not after standing tall at the Reaping like that. I needed to seem strong if I was going to survive.

Nico released me and the two of us sat in on the couch together. He held out the cord to me.

"It's a bracelet," he explained. "I made it for our birthday yesterday but I decided to wait to gove it to you." I smiled as he helped me tie it on. There were four small pieces of beach glass braided into the course leather. One was a light green, like our shared room, another was a deep blue, like the sea, and the last two were a lighter shade of blue. The last peices matched pur eyes perfectly.

"My token," I whispered quietly. Nico smiled.

"You better hurry back, before O take over your half of the room," he teased. The two of us had a long standing joke about how messy he was. Our mom always said that if I wasn't there to keep my half of the room clean, he would take over everything.

The door banged open and a Peacekeeper grabbed Nico. My hand was torn from his as he was dragged to the door, I tried to follow him but another Peacekeeper shoved me harshly back into the room. I banged my elbow as I fell.

Seconds later both my parens hurried into the room. My mom looked frantic as she pulled me in tightly for a hug. I hugged he for a moment before pulling away and forcing a smile. My father stood by the door as I ushered my mother to a chair.

Mom was clutching my hand so tightly I could feel my circulation being cut off. She was muttering apologies under her breath as I sunk down next to her and my dad took his seat on the chair.

"Morgan," my father said softly. "You need to calm down, we only have a short time." My mother nodded. Her hold loosening on my hand slightly.

"Why are you apologizing?" I asked, my mother was a proud woman, she rarely apologized for anything.

"That's not important now," she said quickly. I raised an eyebrow at her.

"Now, do you have a plan for the arena?" My father asked. I thought for a minute.

"Make an alliance with the tributes from One and Two, possibly Asher," I answered finally. My dad smiled at me. Not his usual full of life and laughter smile. This one was strained, like it was taking all his willpower to force it.

"If that doesn't work," he said, "try to ally yourself with the tributes from outer Districts, you can build your own alliance, use your age to your advantage."

We talked strategy for the rest of our time together. The Peacekeeper came in sooner than I would have liked and escorted my parents out.

"Don't lose yourself in there," my mother yelled as the white clad man forced her out of the room. The door slammed shut and I sighed, figuring I would have the next twenty minutes or so to myself.

The door slammed open a third time to show the last person I would have ever expected to come and see me off.

Neptune Grey stood before me, His pale skin flushed pink.

"Um, hi," he said.

"Hi."

"How are you feeling?" I shrugged. My mind was reeling.

Why was this boy here? Shouldn't he be home celebrating or something? Why wasn't he visiting Asher?

"Not to be rude, but what are you doing here?" Neptune laughed.

"You're very blunt," he observed. The two of us moved to stand in front of the couch.

"I try, but seriously why are you here, shouldn't you be thanking Asher, because I know he wasn't going to volunteer this year."

"Already did, I'm here because there's something want to ask you."

"What?" I asked. Neptune leaned in closer to me.

"Did you notice how every single girl today, even the ones who have thought about volunteering for years, didn't try to help you?" he whispered. I nodded.

"Do you know why?" I whispered back. He smiled and nodded.

"Answer this, were your parents particularly upset about your Reaping?" I thought back to my mothers apologies and grip on my hand. Something was off about that. I had figured it was just the fact that her daughter had been sentenced to fight to the death, but could there have been more to it?

"I guess," I answered. Neptune nodded like he had expected this.

"Alright, Now, I'm about to tell you something that your parents would kill me for but you need to know it," he leaned in so his lips were right next to my ear and continued so quietly that I could barely hear.

"Your parents are part of a group working to stop the Capitols reign of terror over the Districts." I jumped back as though he had slapped me.

"You're a liar," I hissed. He shrugged.

"Believe what you want," he shrugged and started toward he door. With his hand on the handle he turned around and locked eyes with me.

"Good luck in there, kiddo," with that he threw open the door and walked out of the room

**A/N I'm baaaaaack. Sorry about the late update I should start with a schedule soon xD**

**Love always**


	4. Mentor

The Peacekeepers returned not long after Neptune left and escorted me to a waiting car. I had only been in one a handful of times before and the experience would've been nice if I hadn't been heading toward a living hell.

Next to me Asher was fidgeting with a small golden ring tied around his neck. I assumed it was his token and almost felt sorry for him. It was tiny, no larger than a baby's finger and the way he held it told me it was special to him.

"That's pretty," I said quietly. Asher smiled slightly and dropped the ring.

"I guess it is," he said. "It's my little sister's, my brother bought it for her when she was born." I raised an eyebrow. Gold was expensive and not easy to come by around here, especially for people like us who were the children of the fishermen.

"That's sweet," I said. Asher rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, I guess, when he gave it to her I remember my dad kicking him out and saying to never come back," he laughed darkly.

"Why?" I asked. Asher gave me a look. It wasn't at all like the one he had given me just an hour earlier. This look was filled with nothing but contempt.

"He's a brutal murderer, River Hocking, a victor." I didn't respond but looked at my hands clasped in front of me.

River was last year's victor. He had gotten reaped at the age of fifteen. River's games had only lasted a week and he had won by killing his district partner. He was crying when the hovercraft arrived to take him out of the arena. I had met him twice before the games, once at training and once at school. Both times he had been kind and almost brotherly towards me.

I held River Hocking in high respect.

The car came to a stop at the train station and we both climbed out.A swarm of bug like cameras surrounded us as we tried to battle our way to the high speed train. One we finally reached the entrance we had to stop for the cameras to take pictures.

I plastered in a big smile and even managed to wave at a few cameras before Phox grabbed my arm and dragged me into the train. He lead the two of us into a dining room.

The table was loaded with breads, meats, and something that looked suspiciously like a pile of brightly colored wrappers. Around it sat a group of ten people. Eight men and two women. The victors all looked up as we approached. Finnick Odair, River Hocking, Mags, Astoria Eaton, Dylan Longliner, Christian Canner, Adrian Rider, Eric Grant, Murphy Wilsons, and Thesus Dashner all sat there looking at us, making me feel uncomfortable. The only victor missing was Annie Cresta, the poor girl completely lost her mind in the games.

Asher glared steadily at River as he stomped to the seat next to Mags. I entered behind him and noticed that the only other available seat was next to River and across from Finnick. I quietly took my spot between them, figuring that we would est before talking about the games and mentors.

No one touched the food. No one spoke. We all just sat there watching each other. There was a thick tension in the air. So thick that one could've cit it with a knife and spread it on bread. The silence streached on for five minutes. Then ten.

Finally, I got bored of the stalemate and grabbed the plate closest to me. I piled some sort of meat-like substance onto my plate.

"What's with the creepy, let's all stare at each other ,silence?" I asked. From the head of the table Phox shot me a glare.

"It's impolite to serve yourself first," he snapped. I smiled and using my hands picked up the biggest piece off my plate. I shoved as much of it into my mouth as possible. Around the table there were spoe stifled snickers and even a few outright laughs, quickly smothered with their hands. Phox looked like he was about to have a heart attack. He got up and left the room quickly without another word.

As soon as the door slid shut behind him, the table erupted in laughter. Everyone, that is, except Asher who glared at me. Strange not twenty minutes before he had seemed pretty nice. Finnick was the first to recover and smiled at me.

"You realize that Phox probably despises you now, right?" I flashed him what Nico refers to as my "innocent smile."

"The feeling is mutual," I replied. He nodded before piling his plate with food, much like I had done only moments before.

"As much fun as this has been," Asher snapped impatiently. "We don't have time for this. The games start in less than two weeks and I actually want a shot in there!" Next to me, River snorted.

"Ever the impatient one," he mumbled. Asher shot him a murderous glare. There was more to the brothers story then they were letting on. Mags grumbled something and Astoria laughed.

"We're doing things differently this year," she explained. "Instead of one mentor both of you will work with five of us. That way there'll be a team effect going on."

"But each tribute is only allowed two mentors, it's been a rule since the beginning," Asher said.

"President Snow has given certain Districts permission to try this approach," Astoria responded. I smiled, a team of people working to help me out wasn't a bad thing in the least.

"So who's on my team?" I rolled my eyes. Asher had lost of of his pity and kindness the minute the cameras weren't around. He was working a sweet and caring angle to gain sponsors.

"You're with Mags, Dylan, Eric, Murphy, and River." Asher scowled.

"River can work with Short Stack," he hissed. Next to me River stiffened. His easy smile disappearing completely. I glared at Asher.

"Fine Christian will replace River on your team," Astoria said quickly, trying to cover he shock at his response.

"He's your brother, why don't you want his help?" I asked heatedly. I was so angry that I didn't care that it was none of my business. I didn't care that I was making my own district partner my enemy.

"It doesn't concern you, brat," he hissed. My hand clenched around the handle of my knife.

"What did you just call me," I snarled. Around the table the victors exchanged looks. They could sense the fight coming on but didn't want to make it worse by interfering.

"Truth hurts doesn't it?" He laughed. Around the table the mentors looked torn between laughing or splitting us up. I noticed Finnick signaling to Christian.

"I'd love to see what the cameras thought of you right now," I snarled. "Because I know they picked up on your little sob story in the car and the 'pity the twelve year old look' earlier."

"Oh yeah, because the little kid act is just so convincing," he snapped back, jumping to his feet. I stood quickly too, though it really didn't make much of a difference in my case. I pointed the knife at him threateningly.

"What are ya gonna do? Fight me?" He laughed cruelly. "Bring it on kid." the last part is what set me of. Quick as a flash I brought my arm back and using all my weight threw the knife forward. It stuck in the wall directly over his head and Asher laughed.

"Is that the best you've got?" I smirked.

"If I had meant to hit you," I paused, "you would be dead."

"Tough talk from the munchkin." I grabbed another utensil, this one a spoon, and flicked it at him. It hit him hard in the direct center if his forehead. For a minute he just looked stunned and then he pressed a hand to the wound. When he pulled it away there was a light smear of blood on it.

I had actually hurt him.

Asher started to jump the table. River immediately stood up between us and grabbed my shoulder. Finnick, Adrian and Thesus all materialized around me and half pushed me out of the dining room. I could hear Astoria behind them, telling Mags to make sure the other group stayed out of the viewing room.

**A/N I really liked this chapter, it was fun to write :D Side note I've made a book Review Tumblr. If you're interested it's called bookwormsunited**

**Love always**


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